To provide a sliding member having a DLC (diamond-like carbon) layer having excellent adhesiveness to a substrate.

The sliding member is characterized by having a substrate, a gradient layer having at least one element selected from silicon, tungsten, chromium and titanium, and carbon and formed on the surface of the substrate in such a state that the content ratio of the carbon is reduced as it advances from the surface to the substrate direction in the thickness direction and the DLC layer formed on the surface of the gradient layer.